Poland begins work on $407 million border wall with Belarus

In Poland, construction workers have started on Poland’s border wall with Belarus in order to stop migrants from being pushed across by Belarus.

The wall, totaling at least $394 million, is being constructed to halt what the European Union has called a “hybrid attack.” 

On Thursday, reporters were allowed to see the work taking place in the village of Tolcza, which is near the closed border crossing of Kuznica in eastern Poland. Both border guards and military personnel have patrolled the area as excavators and cranes prepared the ground for the metal wall.

Poland’s government is saying the wall will serve the interests of the whole European Union, and the country is opposed to taking in large numbers of immigrants. 

“The Belarusian side is ready to do anything when it comes to provocations, so we have to be ready for any kind of event,” said Maj. Arkadiusz Tomaszewski, who serves as the deputy commander of the Border Guard in Kuźnica.

At that location, clashes with migrants and Belarusian security officials took place last year. The wall is set to be 18 feet tall, made of metal topped with barbed wire, and it will run over 115 miles along the land part of the border. Cameras and other electronic alarm systems will be added.

Two construction companies will be working on the wall around the clock, and it is set to be completed in June of this year.

European nations have been facing a constant influx of migrants and refugees, and they are looking to step up external border protection, tightening travel rules, and introducing stricter rules for sending migrants back to their countries of origin.